Fort Collins leaders to talk about fracking vote

FORT COLLINS -- City leaders will consider in a study session whether to end a ban against hydraulic fracturing at the Fort Collins City Council meeting on Tuesday.

According to a memo from city staffers to the council, a voter-approved ban would extend the current moratorium against using the hydraulic fracturing process to free oil and gas resources trapped in the rocks underground. Doing so, however, would likely put the city at risk of a lawsuit from state regulators. Already, the Colorado Oil and Gas Commission has sued the city of Longmont because of a voter-enacted ban on hydraulic fracturing there.

The City Council will meet at 6 p.m. at City Hall West, 300 W. Laporte Ave. It is televised on Comcast Channel 14 in Fort Collins.

Because it is a study session, no formal action can be taken, and public testimony will likely not be allowed.